One Lucky Duck

It’s finally here, I’m finally leaving for Quito! It’s been a crazy whirlwind trying to get ready for this adventure. I only had two weeks at home by the time my internship in Phoenix ended to be at home in Philadelphia and try to get all of my things together for these five months away in Quito. I’m not exactly what one might call a light packer, I like to be prepared for any possibility and so trying to fit all of what I thought was necessary to bring into two fifty pound suitcases was quite literally impossible. Luckily, I have a sensible mom who helped me pare down my luggage by telling me things like maybe thirty different t-shirts was a little extreme and I had to pick my five favorites. In the end I ended up with a forty-four pound and forty-seven pound suitcase which was no easy feat.

 In addition to having a fantastic mom helping me pack, I have a good number of family that lives down in Quito that could tell what was best to bring and what was best to leave at home. Three of my mom’s siblings are married and live down in Ecuador with their kids, my cousins, and the majority of my cousins are older than me and starting their own families so I will have no shortage of people around to help me out and to hang out with. Because I’m living with family, I’m heading down about twelve days earlier than the other students in the program so that I have time to spend with family, adjust to the altitude, and maybe do a little sight-seeing before school starts. I keep thinking about how lucky I am to have this amazing opportunity available to me

According to my very reliable Ecuadorian sources, my usual uniform of athletic shorts, baggy tees, and flip flops are not going to cut it so I packed less of that and more “regular” clothes. As I was trying to pack I found I was a little lacking in the “regular” clothes department and of course used that as an excuse to go shopping. Now my clothes are packed, what else do I need? I take a few medications for various health conditions and let me tell you what a hassle it was trying to get the five month supply that I needed. My awesome dad was a huge help on that, but we were working up until the day I left for the airport on getting that all set. That was the most nerve wracking part of preparing for my trip because I would absolutely not want to be stuck without enough medication anywhere, but especially in a foreign country. For anybody else that’s studying abroad or taking an international trip and takes medicine on a regular basis, I highly recommend starting that process sooner rather than later! But it’s all set now and everything is packed and I’m set to go. Currently I’m sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to board. I said goodbye to my parents a little while ago, went through security, and am waiting for this next adventure to begin! I am one lucky girl.